Friday, 11 May 2012

INS Viraat completes 25 years in the Indian Navy on Saturday, 12th May 2012

25 YEARS OF INS VIRAAT- 12 MAY
1987 TO 12 MAY 2012

On 12 May 1987 HMS Hermes became
INS Viraat under the command of Capt (later Vice Admiral) Vinod Pasricha. Commissioned in Nov 1959 as HMS Hermes, the ship completed 28 years in the Royal Navy and saw combat in the Falklands Campaign.

The commissioning signal from the
Naval Headquarters said:

“Your commissioning today marks an important milestone in the development
of our Navy’s blue water capability. May your operational prowess match your
gigantic name and good fortune attend on you wherever you may sail. I wish all
officers and men a happy, challenging and rewarding commission”

The message from the crew of the Hermes read:

“Bringing forward HMS Hermes for hand over to the Indian Navy and
commissioning as INS Viraat… It is with a mixture of sadness, pride and
confidence that we today handover this magnificent ship to the Indian Navy;
sadness in that we with our happy memories witness her passing from the Royal
Navy, pride in the capabilities noting that
she will be in good hands and confident that she will prove equal and worthy of
all the aspirations the Indian Navy have for her as Viraat. The Captain, officers
and ships company of HMS Hermes congratulate the Captain, officers and ships
company on the majesty of INS Viraat and may good fortune attend all who sail
in her quest to control the sea and be all powerful.

INS
Viraat has been maintained and run by the
Indian Navy for a quarter century after that, making Hermes-Viraat one of the longest
serving aircraft carrier in the history of naval operations anywhere in the
world. This says something about the Indian Navy’s capability in maintaining and
operating warships.

In 2009, when the Hermes-Viraat
completed 50 years in service, the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Nirmal
Verma, who commanded Viraat from 08 Nov 1996 to 13 Dec 1997 said:

“The fact that a warship designed
in 1940s and built in the 1950s could evolve and adjust to the technological
and strategic imperatives of the post war years, the Cold War and continues to
have utility in the 21st century is testimony to the men and women
who built her and also those who have contributed to transforming her over the
years.

The ship's motto is “Any Mission, Any Time, Anywhere”

Some other interesting facts
of INS Viraat

When commissioned in 1987, her
envisaged life was 10 years....

INS VIraat’s last major
modernisation and life enhancement refit was undertaken in 2008-09 enabling a
life extension of a few more years ie till the arrival of Vikramaditya ie
definitely till 2013...

INS Viraat was the flag ship of
the western fleet during Op Parakram. With its full strength of Sea Harriers
embarked, Viraat was central to the Western Fleet deployment for over six
months. She was at sea with Capt (now VAdm) DK Joshi as the Commanding Officer
and RAdm (later VAdm) JS Bedi as the Fleet Commander.

She is currently commanded by Capt Ajendra Bahadur Singh, the 19th
CO of the ship.

Ship has seen 18 Commanding
Officers, three of which three went onto become Chiefs of Naval Staff --- Adm
Madhvendra Singh, Adm Arun Prakash and Adm Nirmal Verma.

Ship has done over 40,000 hours
of steaming and traversed over 5,00,000 nautical miles across the proverbial
seven seas. The ship has undertaken over 20,000 hrs of flying from its
deck.

INS
VIRAAT - LIST OF COMMANDING OFFICERS

S NO.

NAME

FROM

TO

1

CAPTAIN VINOD PASRICHA NM

12 May 1987

15 Dec 1988

2.

CAPTAIN MADHAVENDRA
SINGH

15 Dec 1988

30 Aug 1990

3.

CAPTAIN ARUN PRAKASH VRC
NM

30 Aug 1990

26 Dec 1991

4.

CAPTAIN MADANJIT SINGH

26 Dec 1991

21 Mar 1993

5.

CAPTAIN YASHWANT PRASAD

21 Mar 1993

28 Sep 1994

5.

CAPTAIN JAGJEET SINGH
BEDI VSM

28 Sep 1994

13 Oct 1995

6.

CAPTAIN VIJAY SHANKAR

20 Oct 1995

08 Nov 1996

7.

CAPTAIN NIRMAL KUMAR
VERMA

08 Nov 1996

13 Dec 1997

8.

CAPTAIN SK DAMLE NM VSM

13 Dec 1997

15 JUN 2000

9.

CAPTAIN RF CONTRACTOR

16 Jun 2000

18 Dec 2001

10.

CAPTAIN DK JOSHI NM VSM

18 Dec 2001

07 Jan 2003

11.

CAPTAIN ANIL K CHOPRA

07 Jan 2003

06 Jan 2004

12.

CAPTAIN PRADEEP CHAUHAN

06 Jan 2004

31 May 2005

13.

CAPTAIN SPS CHEEMA NM

31 May 2005

15 May 2006

14.

CAPTAIN GIRISH LUTHRA

15 May 2006

11 Aug 2007

15.

CAPTAIN AR KARVE

11 Aug 2007

27 Dec 2008

16.

CAPTAIN ANIL KUMAR
CHAWLA

27 Dec 2008

06 Aug 2010

17.

CAPTAIN HARI KUMAR

06 Aug 2010

15 Nov 2011

18.

CAPTAIN AJENDRA BAHADUR
SINGH

15 Nov 2011

Onwards till date

All major refits of Viraat have
been undertaken by the Cochin Shipyard Limited. The extension of the ship’s
life far beyond initial expectations is stands as a testimony to the high
levels of workmanship and dedication of the yard staff at Cochin Shipyard.

I am from the Saturation diving Industry and know of people who work with me that have served on the HMS Hermes and also were in the falklands wars. They have tried before and are trying to sort of renuite on her decks as a nostalgic moment for her 53rd birthday or whenever the Govt Gods grant permisiion. How do they or I in India go about it so that the veterans of the Hermes/Viraat can sort of set foot on her. Obviously the guys are ex British sailors. Any information would be helpful. My email add is rustomjam@yahoo.com.

with just 5 Harriers left and all of them to be decommissioned by early 2013 do you expect INS Viraat to operate as a LPD or a Helicopter carrier for the remainder of her service life which is well and truly another 10 years.

YES ,WE ARE ALL VERY PROUD OF THE VIRAT THE COMMISONING CREW AND THE REFIT THAT THEY GAVE HER IN ROYAL NAVY DOCKYARD , MAKING IT A SHIP WHICH ATLEST SOME IN THE ROYAL NAVY THOUGHT WAS WORTH RETAINING RATHER THAN TRANFERING TO INDIAN NAVY. HAVING BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE AQUISITIONING OF VIRAT ,I AM REMINDED OF THE DRAMA WHICH WAS PLAYED A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE HANDING OVER AND THE RELEASE OF THE ASSOCIATED LAST STAGE PAYMENT .ULTIMATELY THE THEN VICE CHEIF HAD TO GO THE UK A DAY BEFORE THE HANDING OVER AND ENSURE THAT WE GET THIS MIGHTY SHIP .